1. Technical Field
This document relates to methods and materials involved in assessing samples (e.g., cancer cells) for the presence of a loss of heterozygosity (LOH) signature. For example, this document provides methods and materials for determining whether or not a cell (e.g., a cancer cell) contains an LOH signature. This document also provides materials and methods for identifying cells (e.g., cancer cells) having a deficiency in homology directed repair (HDR) as well as materials and methods for identifying cancer patients likely to respond to a particular cancer treatment regimen. Throughout this document, unless indicated otherwise, HDR deficiency and HRD (homologous repair deficiency) are used synonymously.
2. Background Information
Cancer is a serious public health problem, with 562,340 people in the United States of America dying of cancer in 2009 alone. American Cancer Society, Cancer Facts & Figures 2009 (available at American Cancer Society website). One of the primary challenges in cancer treatment is discovering relevant, clinically useful characteristics of a patient's own cancer and then, based on these characteristics, administering a treatment plan best suited to the patient's cancer. While strides have been made in this field of personalized medicine, there is still a significant need for better molecular diagnostic tools to characterize patients' cancers.